Cirque de Fortuna
by Mirror-of-Roses
Summary: Circus/Early Days of Dust AU. Cinder runs a circus with her adoptive daughters, Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang, Pyrrha and Neo, as the stars. After their final ten-year anniversary show, Blake questions her life as a performer and thinks about leaving, wanting to take her sisters along. Will the girls escape the circus, or will Cinder reel them back in?


**Author's Note: I have posted this before, but I deleted it along with the other two or three chapters because I'm thinking of rewriting the story. If I do, it'll be in a while, months is what it looks like so far, because I'm working on another AU right now. Once that story is finished, I'll get right to this one. I'll leave this first chapter up and I'll get to the later chapters in a while.**

* * *

Tonight was a very important night for the whole of Cirque de Fortuna. It was the 5 year anniversary and the stars of the show, Cinder's daughters, were very anxious. They all wanted to do their mother proud, as it was also the last show of their tour around their country, Vale, and was expected to be more spectacular than all the other shows. Tonight was the dreaded night, yet the most anticipated.

They stood together just outside their dressing rooms in their costumes and a few with heavy makeup.

Blake and Ruby, known as Beast and Rosy, were doing trapeze, so Blake wore a black leotard, fishnets, ballet flats and a bow. The only thing she wore that wasn't black was the red feathers in her hair that matched her partner's. Ruby wore a leotard as well, only red with black roses at the neckline, black stockings and red flats.

Weiss, whose stage name was Snowflake, wore her magician outfit consisting of a mini top hat, black heeled boots, ruffled skirt, gloves and a buttoned vest with coattails and a white tube top underneath it. Topping it off was a red bowtie and a black and white wand.

Yang, who was Dragon, had on a red and orange one-shoulder leotard, a flame pattern on the shoulder. She wore long gloves and thigh-high boots of the same style and colour. A smirk played across her lips, openly displaying her confidence.

Pyrrha's leotard was red with a golden design on the bodice and a big red tutu. Crimson red flats adorned her feet and her hair was in large ringlets, black gloves on her hands. This earned her the stage name Royal.

Neo was the most uniquely dressed of the girls with a special nickname to match, Stardust. Her attire was a white and brown striped shirt, a white, pink, and brown ruffled skirt, white and brown stockings and pink flats. She also wore black suspenders which made it clear that she was a mime.

All six girls were smiling and chatting away, waiting for the show to start.

"I hope I don't mess up and set myself on fire," Yang said anxiously, fidgeting.

"That's what you say before every show, Yang," Weiss scoffed, hands on hips. "You've never done that before. If anything, I should be worried about freezing one of you guys."

"Yang's right to worry, though," Pyrrha said. "Tonight's a really important night for mom. If we mess up, she won't be happy."

"We have five years of training and five more of performing experience," Weiss argued. "I think we got this in the bag."

"Rosy! Beast! You're on in fifteen!" An employee called to them.

"Wish us luck," Blake smiled before leaving, Ruby in tow.

"Don't we always?" Yang joked, waving just as Blake and Ruby turned the corner.

* * *

"And now with the opening act: Beast and Rosy!" Cinder's voice rang all throughout the tent.

The crowd cheered and clapped as the spotlight shone on the trapeze duo. It was silent as they grasped the wooden bars tightly, preparing to jump off their blue platforms.

Blake took a big leap, feathers fluttering as the air rushed past her face and her hair flew behind her. She welcomed the exhilarating feeling taking over her body as the energy flowed. Ruby joined her partner, flipping upside down, her hands ready to catch Blake's.

Blake flipped upside down as well, ready for the catch. She grabbed Ruby's hands, unhooking her legs from the bar.

"They work so well together," Pyrrha complimented, watching her adoptive sisters perform with finesse from the flap in the tent.

"Yeah," Yang agreed with a nod, Neo copying her action.

Their act ended when Blake let go on her bar, soaring upward. She used her shadow clone to propel herself higher, the clone doing a simple backflip before disappearing. A few more clones were created as she descended and she landed on the trampoline, Ruby just a few feet away.

"Let's give those two a hand!" Cinder smiled brightly, megaphone in hand. "Weren't Beast and Rosy just dazzling?"

The crowd went wild, cheering and applauding the two trapeze artists.

"Up next: Polka and Grim the contortionists!"

* * *

"You both were amazing!" Yang praised the two when they came backstage.

"Thanks." Ruby grinned while Blake went to change into her high wire outfit.

"Come on, Ruby," Blake called over her shoulder, "we have to get changed. You're the final act, remember? Hurry up!"

"Coming!" Ruby called back, speed-walking to Blake. "Good luck, you guys!"

"And now for Stardust, our mime!"

Neo proudly marched to the middle of the stage, directly under the spotlight. She had a huge open-mouthed grin plastered to her face as she waved excitedly at the crowd.

The mime began to act out a story of a lovesick girl, making love-struck expressions and kissing noises, much to the audience's amusement. Neo was interrupted by Pyrrha, who came in on stilts twice Neo's height and juggled three balls. She walked around the stage, circling the lovesick girl.

Neo looked shocked and angry, shaking her fist at Pyrrha with a low growl. The redhead stopped juggling and gave Neo her full attention, placing a hand on her chest with a surprised expression. Neo nodded, pointing to the floor.

Pyrrha dropped the balls and slipped her feet out of the stilts, landing on the floor with ease. She came face-to-face with Neo, hands on hips and eyebrows raised.

The two proceeded to argue silently over a boy they both happened to love, both making kissing noises with far-away looks on their faces, making the audience roar with laughter. The scene ended with them huffing and turning away from each other, noses turned up haughtily. The audience clapped, chuckling as well as Stardust and Royal bowed, grinning and holding hands.

"Now that was a touching performance!" Cinder praised as they walked offstage. "Next, we have Beast on the tightrope!"

The spotlight shifted to Blake, who was on a purple platform attached to the tightrope.

Her outfit was different from before. She wore a wreath of purple lilies on her head along with her bow. There was another large black bow on the back of her purple dress, which reached mid-thigh and flowed out a bit. Purple and black striped stocking were on her legs and purple flats on her feet.

Blake was perfectly poised and ready to go before she took the first step. The very first step on the tightrope was always daunting for her, it was the one thing she would never get over or get used to in the circus.

She slowly did a cartwheel, creating an air of tension as she did another. The audience was biting their lips and holding their breaths.

In the middle of doing another cartwheel, she grasped the wire with both hands tightly, doing a handstand.

"How is she doing that?" A child whispered loudly to their mother. "She isn't moving!"

Blake deadpanned, pursing her lips in concentration. She lowered her legs and twisted her body so she was doing the splits on the wire. The audience gasped in awe, watching the girl in the middle of the wire hold her arms out to her sides.

She wanted to smile at the praise, but if she did, she would let go of her focus.

Blake pushed herself up a bit, leaving behind a shadow clone, which propelled her upward. The clone was still doing the splits when Blake landed on one foot, her other leg raised and the foot level with her head.

She took several steps forward before doing a small turn and continuing to the platform on the other side.

"Well, isn't she more a beauty rather than a Beast?" Cinder grinned. "Next up is Dragon and Royal, our fire breather and juggler!"

Yang and Pyrrha were under the spotlight, a pyramid with 15 metal bowling pins behind Yang. The two nodded to each other, smiling.

Pyrrha held out her hand, palm facing up, and stared at the bowling pins on the other side of the stage. A single pin floated up, hovering for a second before drifting towards her and landing softly on her palm. Her hand closed around the cool metal. She tossed it up and caught it a few times before getting a second and third pin in the same fashion as the first. She started juggling them.

Yang waited a few seconds before taking a deep breath. When she released it, she spewed a long trail of of fire at Pyrrha. Some members of the audience screamed in shock as the flames engulfed the redhead. Yang gave them all a thumbs up, signalling that the juggler was alright.

Through the flames, they could see Pyrrha carrying on with her juggling act as if nothing happened. As the fire went out on Pyrrha's body, it went straight to the pins. She was left unscathed, only with the flaming bowling pins that she juggled with ease. The audience stared at her in awe with slacked jaws and wide eyes.

Yang set the rest of the bowling pins ablaze and tossed them to Pyrrha, adding to her current load. Soon, all fifteen pins were juggled.

They suddenly hovered away from Pyrrha's hands and made a ring of fire above her head.

While the audience was captivated, Yang had gotten the table with three poles on it for Pyrrha's plate spinning act.

The ring of fire glowed before the fire went out and the pins were caught by Pyrrha, who took a bow beside Yang.

As Pyrrha's next act commenced, Yang decided to have a chat with her sisters.

"Hey, guys!" Yang waved with a wide grin. "Three more acts from us and we're done for the night. You anxious, Rubes?"

"Of course I am," Ruby smiled despite her words. "Showstopper isn't the easiest act in the circus, you know."

"Pfft, we know that," Weiss scoffed. "Magic tricks aren't so easy either. I have to make sure I don't hurt you guys."

"I had to try not to hurt Pyrrha!" Yang exclaimed with a frown.

Neo stepped between them with her hands out to the sides. She pouted and made a heart shape with her hands.

"Alright, alright," Yang chuckled, patting Neo's head. "We won't argue."

"You better not," Blake smirked, "or mom will get angry if we mess up because of it."

"I never want to see her angry again-" Ruby shuddered- "for any reason."

"Yeah," Weiss agreed. "Ever since she discovered something about Dust or whatever, she put it in her clothes. Now she can make fire, just like Yang."

"I wonder why she calls it "advancing technology" anyway," Yang frowned. "It looks more destructive than anything else. Now she's spouting about elemental stuff. What does it all mean?"

"She might not know that herself," Blake shrugged, "but she's getting paid to find out."

* * *

"And now for a magical experience with Snowflake and her assistant, Stardust!"

The spotlight shined onto Weiss and Neo. Weiss smiled at the audience while Neo grinned goofily.

"Hello, ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages!" Weiss bellowed, spreading her arms out to her sides. "My assistant Stardust and I will give you a magic show you will never forget! First, we'll start off with a rather cool trick. Stardust, if you would," Weiss said politely, raising her wand, which she dubbed Myrtenaster.

Neo bowed, umbrella in her hand. Weiss tapped Neo's head with her wand.

Ice was beginning to encase Neo's body as she stayed perfectly still, the audience gasping in surprise. She looked just like an ice sculpture of herself, frozen in place and sparkling beautifully.

"Don't be alarmed," Weiss smirked, "it's simply a fabrication, ladies and gentlemen. Stardust is right here, see?"

Weiss gestured to Neo, who stood right beside her, shocking the spectators. The Neo sculpture was still standing a few feet away.

"Now, who else would you like to see?" Weiss asked the audience.

Cries of 'Royal!', 'Beast!', 'Rosy!' and 'Dragon!' rang throughout the stage.

"Alright, alright," Weiss silenced the eager crowd with a finger to her lips, "I'll do all four. Watch and see the stars of the circus on ice!"

With a flourish of Myrtenaster, four dazzling ice sculptures appeared. 'Royal' was juggling flaming pins, like earlier. 'Dragon' was doing a sassy pose with fire shooting out of her mouth. 'Beast' was standing straight with her hands around 'Rosy''s ankles as if they were on the flying trapeze.

The audience clapped and cheered.

Suddenly, a light blue glyph appeared under each sculpture, including Neo's. Each ice masterpiece shattered into sparkles and glitter, making the claps and cheers even louder.

"Thank you all! Have a great night, everyone!" Weiss grinned, bowing with Neo.

Weiss raised Myrtenaster and fireworks went off in the air above her. The two exited the main stage.

"It's now time for Dragon, our fiery lady!"

* * *

"Ready, Ruby?" Pyrrha smiled at Ruby, who was preparing for her final act.

"You've never done this before," Weiss added, fixing her top hat.

"Of course I'm ready," Ruby grinned at them. "How do I look?" She twirled on the spot.

Ruby wore a different outfit. She wore black tights, gloves and pearl earrings, red flats and a rose in her hair. She also had on a bright red dress with darker red roses around her waist.

Her adoptive sisters marvelled at her.

"You look absolutely dazzling!" Pyrrha clapped her hands excitedly with a grin. "You'll definitely wow the audience!"

"It's not a fashion show," Weiss smirked. "It's the act that matters most, not the costumes."

"So you want to wear a potato sack?" Ruby joked.

"No! That's not what I meant!"

"Oh, no, don't worry," Pyrrha teased her. "We'll fix you up with a nice potato sack right away. Give me a second-"

"No! I take back what I said!" Weiss fumed.

"Are you sure?" Ruby giggled.

"Yes, I'm sure," Weiss grumbled, crossing her arms and averting her eyes.

"Ruby, you're on in five!" Blake called, scurrying over to them.

"And now for the final act!" Cinder announced. "Rosy!"

"You can do it," Weiss smiled at Ruby, who was nervously approaching the stage.

Ruby nodded with a gulp, forcing a grin on her face as she got on stage.

She looked up at the audience anticipating her act eagerly. Ruby took a deep breath and calmed down.

 _This'll be quick, literally,_ Ruby told herself. Right then, she disappeared, becoming a red streak circling the edges of the stage.

Ever since she was little, red rose petals followed her every time she sprinted, and she was using that trick in her act. A whirlwind of rose petals scattered throughout the tent, raining down on the audience, much to their wonder. Even the performers were greatly impressed, watching as the petals decorated the stands and the stage.

"Woohooo!" Yang hollered through a curtain, poking her head out to the stage. "Go Ruby! I mean Rosy!"

"We did an amazing show, guys!" Pyrrha cheered while high-fiving both Neo and Ruby. "Our last 5-year anniversary show, phew!"

"I. Am. Pooped," Yang sighed, plopping down on a crate. "Thank goodness it's over."

"I like entertaining people," Weiss smiled a little, "but it takes a lot of energy out of you..."

"Well, I think it's really fun, even if it makes me tired." Pyrrha smiled.

"But we have another show in a month!" Ruby whined. "We never catch a break."

"Hey, guys," Blake started thoughtfully, "have you ever thought about, you know, leaving the circus?"

Weiss gasped, her hand flying to Blake's mouth as if she'd just revealed something top secret. "Blake! Mom's right there!" She pointed at Cinder, who stood in the distance, talking to one of the performers.

"I know that, but..." Blake paused. "I was just wondering if you ever wondered who you would be if you left Cirque de Fortuna."

"Nobody, that's who," Weiss hissed, crossing her arms. "If she didn't take us in, who knows what kind of creep would have! We could be dead by now if it weren't for Cinder.

"Aside from that, we'd need jobs," Pyrrha added. "We really don't have any skills other than our acts."

"We've also been here for most of our lives," Yang added further. "We don't know much other than the circus and our homeschooling. We're... stuck, I guess."

"But-" Blake was interrupted by the arrival of Cinder.

"Girls! You put on a magnificent show," Cinder grinned, giving them all a huge bear hug. "I'm so proud of you!"

"Thanks, mom," Ruby wheezed with a weak smile.

"Alright, change out of your performance clothes," Cinder smiled softly, letting them go. "We're going home soon so we can rest for a while."

The girls went to their separate changing rooms, Blake's proposal on their minds.


End file.
